


Second Shadow

by LeeVC



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: I know it's weird but I love it, I'm a fan of a fan, More tags to come as the story progresses, Multi, Sequel of Fanfic, multi-continuity references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-08-21 04:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16570073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeVC/pseuds/LeeVC
Summary: A Sequel to SumiSprite's "Snakebite"==========================Pitch's life was finally going well. He had a beautiful woman at his side, a new home, a new lease on life and, best of all, the Guardians are leaving him alone to live his life. But when Pitch starts being haunted by strange dreams and a shadowy being, he's determined to put an end to it. However, upon finding the source of this problem, his new peaceful life might be turned completely on it's head...





	1. Shadows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SumiSprite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SumiSprite/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Snakebite](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1194789) by [SumiSprite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SumiSprite/pseuds/SumiSprite). 



He was here again.

Beneath his feet was an endless plane of what he could describe as a watery mirror. It appeared to be as deep as the largest oceans yet it did no move like one. It was dark yet all around were watery shadows of deep blues and tiny dots of light floating around, dimming and alighting like lazy fireflies. This void, this endless and calm void was all that he could see.

And Pitch was all too familiar with it. This dream, or rather vision, he’s been having for the past 3 months has been haunting him everytime he decided to rest and that was not often. At first he thought he was having a nightmare. That wouldn’t be too far fetched for him. If his Fearlings and Nightmares were not sated enough the evenings before, they didn’t care where they got their next “meal”, be it from a child or their own master. But after a while, it was clear this wasn’t a nightmare. Or even a dream. His mind was sent to another plane altogether. An unconscious realm? No, that couldn’t be it. He’d be in his own subconscious if that were the case.

It didn’t matter much though. Because he knew what was going to happen next.

It only took a few steps before ‘it’ appeared. As always, it never appeared directly in front of him. He always spotted it just outside of peripheral view.

This “shadow” could’ve been easily been mistaken for one of Pitch’s fearlings. But he knew better. On the outside it had all the traits of one. A body made entirely of inky black shadows with little wisps of it smoking from its body. Its eyes near perfect ovals; inexpressive and never blinking. The fingers were long and spindly and tapered out like claws. But Pitch could see the clear differences between this Shadow before him and his own minions. Unlike his normal basic Fearlings, this thing looked too human. For one thing, instead of a long shadowy tail, this creature had actual legs. Its legs tapered off into a dull point like his fingers, leaving without any “feet”, giving them the appearance of a ghost like tale. But even with it’s almost black form, Pitch could see they were too straight and there was a clear seam between them. And atop of its head were a dense mass of shadowy tendrils that gave it the appearance of hair, yet it flickered and move like a black flame.

And it’s eyes. There was something about the creature's eyes. They had no pupils or color yet there was a very subtle yellow glow to them. His fearlings eyes were always a dull eerie white.

As unsettling at it was, Pitch was used to it, although that fact made him even more irritated at the situation. It appears to him every time he has this ‘dream.’ Sometimes it’s just floating there, staring at him unblinkingly. In the beginning, when Pitch tried to approach it, it would disappear and Pitch would wake up again. But it’s been 3 months. And Pitch was tired of this nonsense.

Pitch stepped forward until he was at least 10 feet apart from it. He tilted his head a bit. The shadow mirror him. He went to lift his hand. Again the shadow mirrored him.

_‘Well...this is new…’_ He thought. Usually it just floated there staring at him. And now it decided to play a game of simon says apparently. Ridiculous.

“...Why are you here…?” Pitch asked. The shadow had no answer. That was normal. It never spoke. He didn’t expect it to. Fearling or not, they never spoke. Just distorted whispers he was able to glean the meaning of through his magic.

“This is getting old you know...” He began “...It’s not every night I decide to sleep...but I rather be able to do it in PEACE and not be...haunted...by some mute shadow! Why are you here? What are you!?”

Again, the shadow remained silent, this time tilting it’s own head down, as if to think on Pitch’s words. The nightmare king frowned, crossing his arms, his fists tightening on the sleeves of his robes. He closed his eyes in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not when he’s finally gotten his life together. Not when he’s actually found some semblance of happiness.

**_“...wh...a...t…”_ **

It was like a distorted whisper, like it was spoken backwards but Pitch could barely understand him. He opened his eyes, the shadow now standing right in front of Pitch. He froze. This was the first time he’s ever heard it speak. He didn’t know it could speak. 

“Wh...what did you--”

**_“...wha...t…..wh...at….what….what...WHAT….WHAT...”_ **

Pitch watched as the shadow repeated the word over and over, louder with each utterance. The realm begin to distort, the mirror ground darker from the edges and closing in on them. He heard an...yell? No a horn, maybe? It was short and sharp and sounded off in 3 short bursts, pausing before sounding off again. It made his ear pound, it was so loud and obnoxious, what was that!? The shadow stopped speaking and was starting to shimmer, disappearing before Pitch eyes. The sound was getting louder and louder, he had to shut his ears, he couldn’t take it anymore.

The Shadow continued to shimmer away, his legs, then body, then arms disappearing. Pitch reached out to grab it but it flinched away and just before Pitch’s hand could touch it…!

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

Pitch’s eyes snapped open. He could feel his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Where was he? What just happened? Was that shadow still here? 

No, no he had to calm down. Breath. In and out. In and out.

He had that dream before. But nothing like that. That Shadow has appeared to him several times but he’s never heard it uttered a single word or even a sound. And never has the dream ended so...alarmingly.

After inhaling another deep breath and exhaling through his nose, he opened his eyes again. The first thing he saw were dark vines and leaves growing through the cracks of the ceiling, spreading and swirling all around, only slightly obstructed by the black sheer canopy that draped over his bedposts and frame. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair. He deeply frowned at the fact that he apparently went into a cold sweat in his sleep. The nerve of it. Him, the King of Nightmares and Fear brought into a cold sweat by a dream. It would be insulting if Pitch even considered what he just went through an actual dream. In fact it was more annoying that he was dreaming in the first place. 

At that thought, he turned to look at one of the bedposts. What some might see as decorative carving, in reality they were carefully carve rune symbols of a spell that Pitch put there months ago. Though, in hindsight it apparently did him no good. After the first couple of times, he thought he was just having strange nightmares produced by his own mind. So he went about looking through his own library for a spell that would allow him to fall into a dreamless sleep. It started out as a few rune symbols at first and it worked...for about 5 seconds. He carved more and more, hoping to amplify it but apparently it did no good. No matter what he did, that dream came back every time. It was infuriating!

He huffed, throwing the sheets off his legs and stepping onto cool stone tiles. He walked past gothic stone fireplace, a small table and chairs to onto a balcony lined with a stone railing and small greek pillars and the view managed to bring a small smile to his face.

Pitch liked his original lair; with it’s towering stalagmite and stalactites, endless dark chasms, winding stairs and eerie confusing layout that only he could maneuver. The perfect atmosphere for fear. But as the years past and people began to forget him, it began to feel less like a home...and more like a tomb made specifically for him to die in. Forgotten and alone. Not to mention how horrid it got in the summers.

But his second lair beneath the Tooth Palace?

This felt like a palace fit for a king.

Dark green vines bleed through the cracks to waterfall around different sections of the walls of the massive open cave that his balcony overlooked. To compliment them, cages of dark metal, much like those in his original cave, hung from the ceiling and were filled with more dark plants, some growing so long they looked like stand-alone weeping willows. More great pillar stood high from the ground, carved to appear as if great snakes were twisting around until at their tops stood snake head with clear water flowing out of their mouths feeding into the huge oasis that made of the center of the circular room. To the left and right were more small waterfalls being fed from far off rivers and into said oasis, the sound of the gentle rushing water amplified by the echo of the lair.

Just beneath his balcony was a platform raised by several steps that held a throne made of the same dark metal. At the bottom of the throne platform stood a massive globe; each continent alit with little golden lights, each light representing Pitch’s lair. And lastly, within the oasis itself was a small island where a solitary yet massive weeping willow tree grew; it’s long vines and leaves slightly obscuring an old stone well that would appear bottomless to the average person.

Pitch took in another deep breath, this time followed by a small smile. With a wave of his hand, a few tendrils of shadows appeared behind him holding a small tea set, piping hot with his favorite flavor. His sleep may have been all but peaceful but at least he could wake up to this view every day. To be honest, ever since he agreed to move into these caverns beneath the Tooth Palace, he’s spent more time here than in his original home. Though he had more control over his Nightmares now that they were being regularly “fed”, he didn’t want to risk them getting out and causing mischief. That’s one more headache he didn’t need.

Speaking of which, a familiar whinny echoed through the halls of his home. A few of them had shown up at the first level and were trotting around his globe.

Well, he suppose it was time to start the day. He took one more sip of his tea before summoning his usual cloak and teleporting down.

Appearing by the globe he was quickly greeted by 2 of his Nightmares…

His face immediately contorted into a frown.

“...you still haven’t found them...?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at them. He had control over them, yes, but their were just as wild as normal horses. They could get easily distracted if he wasn’t there to micromanage them. And a few weeks ago, while he was out causing nightmares he took at least 3 with him. And upon returning, he realized one had gone missing. He didn’t think anything of it at first but after dealing with those strange dreams, he’s gotten a bit paranoid.

The horses neighed and snorted lowly; No, they had found their lost comrade. They didn’t know where they had gone. Pitch grumbled and glanced upward a bit. He could see a few ray of sunlight bleeding through one of the cracks in the ceiling. Well past sunrise now and he had other matters he wanted to attend to.

Huffing, he turned away from his minions, giving them a quick order to behave while he was gone before bleeding into the shadows once more…

 

**  
_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_  
**

 

Toothiana was lightly humming a happy tune as she fluttered about a small dining area within the palace. She never used to have need of a real “dining room” before. She usually just had light snacks and small meals throughout the day while she worked. However, since she loved sharing meals with a certain special someone, and after a quick redecoration of an empty unused sitting area, it made for a nice cozy little dining area. Several windows had their curtains drawn, allowing for the morning light to illuminate the area in a soft golden glow, made slightly more intense by the golden colors of the walls. The small table had a basket of bread in the center with a small plate of butter and a jar of honey on each side. A small bowl of fruit, some fresh smoked salmon, of course, some earl grey tea.

A lovely breakfast for a lovely morning in Toothiana’s opinion. She was just setting down the last tea cup on the table when, with a yelp, she suddenly felt herself tip backwards and a familiar set of lips upon her.

“...hello there, my lovely songbird…”

With a giggle, Toothiana leaned up and gave Pitch another sweet peck on the lips. “P-Pitch, heheh! You almost made me drop the cup!”

Pulling herself upright, she continued setting the table. Meanwhile, Pitch began to nonchalantly circle the table.

“Hmm...quite a lovely spread,” He stopped at one of the chair, setting his elbow on the back of a chair and his chin resting on the other hand. “...two plates, two cups...expecting someone to join you?” 

Hands on her hip, Toothiana gave him a smirk. “Why yes, I invited Bunnymund over for breakfast.”

Oh he could play this game.

“Shouldn’t there be more carrots on the table then? Or grass, maybe? Some extra plates for him to break when he goes on a temper tantrum?”

With a chuckle, they both took their seats and helped themselves to the food.

“So, how was your evening?” He asked, helping himself to an apple.

“Really busy, we had a huge influx of teeth from California AND New York, my girls were swamped! I think I’ll have do my bicentennial cleanup a little earlier this time!”

Pitch gave her a slightly flat look as he drizzled a little honey into his tea. “You know...you could just use that Antarctic pillar as extra storage...it’s been empty all this time, hasn’t it?”

Tooth paused for a moment mid sip of her tea. “I can’t do that! I’m saving it for when people start living there!”

“Toothiana...I doubt that’s ever going to happen...it’s too cold…”  
“They could in the future! It always helps to be prepared!”

“You know, there’s a fine line between dedication and being silly…”

“You hush…” With a smile she finished her tea before taking an orange for herself. A moment of silence began to set in and Tooth took this moment to study Pitch, noticing something. While he normally had dark circles around his eyes, they seemed to be more pronounced lately. He still enjoyed drinking their morning Jasmine tea but she’s been told by some of her girls he’s been drinking a lot more caffeinated teas in the past couple of months. She tried to give Pitch his space, even though they lived together she knew they both needed their own separate spaces due to the difference in their work. But still…

“Pitch...is everything alright?”

Pouring his second cup of tea, he glanced up. “...why do you ask?”

“Well...you just look a little...haggard...is all...is anything wrong?”

He frowned. This situation with the vision-dreams...he had been trying to keep it from Tooth. He was sure he could handle this himself he just needed to find the right method. Knowing Tooth, if she had become aware of his predicament, she’d fuss and insist on helping. Not that he didn’t appreciate it, far from it. He found her to be quite adorable when she was flustered and the genuine concern she had made him feel...well...loved.

But it was because of that he didn’t want to share all his problems with her. He didn’t want to ruin this happiness.

“...it’s nothing. Just...a few of my Nightmares have run off, I’m just having trouble finding them..”

“They ran off? H-Has that ever happened before?”

With a sigh, he sat back in his chair, loosely crossing his arms. “A few times. They do have minds of their own and they can be easily distracted if I don’t hold the reins tight enough...but never this long. Most likely, they’re just wandering around somewhere causing minor mischief. I’ll find them eventually, it’s nothing you need to worry about…”

Pitch gave her a reassuring smile, bringing a blush and smile to her own face. Still, she reached over the table, taking his hand into her, lacing their fingers together.

“If it’ll help, I can tell me girls to be on the lookout and tell you if they see them! I’m sure they’d be more than eager to help you out!”

A light chuckle left his lips as he lifted her hand giving her a kiss to her knuckles, his smile turning mischievous and the look in his eyes sultry. “What would I ever do without, Songbird…?”

Pitch loved how with just the slightly provocation, he could bring a blush to Tooth’s face and send her heart (and wings) a flutter. She dipped her head shyly, batting her lashes a bit at the Nightmare King.

“Sweet talker…”

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

Jack loved this time of year. Winter was his time to shine and have some fun. Emphasis on fun this time around since Mother Nature saw fit to make it snow heavier than usual. So all Jack had to do was sit back, relax and have a few snowball fights too! In the places that didn’t get much snow, he padded it out with a few snowstorms and blizzards. The adults didn’t appreciate having to shovel out their cars and drive ways but the kid sure did, and that’s all that mattered to Jack. Even North appreciated the extra snow Jack brought. The extra snow made for cushy landings for his reindeer and, being an adventurer at heart, North always loved a challenge. In one of the last town he visited on Christmas eve, Jack made a blizzard appear, much to North’s pleasure. Even shouting up to Jack if that’s the best he could do. Of course, Jack waited until North delivered his last gift before pelting the man with snowballs.

But now, winter break was coming to an end and the kids and teens of North America were getting a good night sleep to be bright and early for the first day of school. Pfft, like that was gonna stop Jack from giving them one last snow day for the year. Who didn’t love another extra day off from school and work?

Jack swirled on the winds, circling a small North Eastern town. A pull of the north wind there, some dense snow clouds there and already the town was covered in a thick blanket of snow. He even made a few snowmen on the front lawns of some houses; a nice little welcome for the kids when they first wake up.

Landing with his usual grace on the roof of a clock tower, he took a second to admire his work. The light of the crescent moon made the snow glitter like tiny diamonds. Everything covered in white always look so much prettier to Jack. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw some wisps of gold begin to flow their way into the town.

“Oh! Sandy, perfect!” A big smile appeared on his, launching from the roof to follow the source of the dreamsand...only to find a dreamsand cloud covered in a pile of snow. Before Jack could ponder there, a small section poofed everywhere as Sandy’s head popped out, shaking the snowflakes from his hair.

Jack, bringing a hand to his mouth, snorted out a laugh as Sandy made a silent sneeze; pouting at Jack.

“Pffbht...hahahaha!! S-Sorry Sandy! Hehehaha!”

Still pouting, Sandy shook off the rest of the snow as Jack floating over sitting on the edge of Sandy’s cloud. A question mark popped up over Sandy’s head along with a few more symbols.

“Well it’s the first day of school tomorrow! Wanted to give the kids one more snow day. Not to mention I wanted to get here before Pitch. First day of school nightmares and all that...bleegh!”

Sandy silently chuckled, saying he was thinking the same thing. But the smile disappeared in the a pout as he pointed down at a building behind Jack.

_‘Too late..’_

Down below, they both spotted a Nightmare flying its way out of a home, strutting around for a moment. A pout appearing on his face, Jack began looking around for Pitch. If his Nightmares were here, he’s probably here too…

“Aw man...well, no biggie! I made so much snow they’re probably gonna cancel school tomorrow anyway!” Jack said, leaning forward. Sandy however, tilted his head a bit. That wasn’t a child's home. His sand automatically sought out the minds of children whenever he let them flow freely and no sand was touching the home the Mare just came out of. And...was there something it’s mouth?

Curious, Sandy brought his cloud lower until they were just in front of the home. The Nightmare sensed him instantly and turned around, snorting in annoyance. They could clearly see something its teeth and it left both the Sandman and Jack Frost very confused.

“Is...is that a cell phone?” It was hard to tell, being black on black, but Jack could clearly decipher a distinctive reflective square help it’s jaw, with a bright neon green case now that he noticed it. Jack glanced to the side and was taken aback. There was more inside of it’s ribcage as well! He could make out the shapes of what looked like a trophy, another cell phone and...were those car keys?

“I didn’t think Pitch as a thief…” Jack mused as he got of the cloud. He slowly reached out his hand, his steps careful. The mare snorted and stomped at the ground, letting a growl-like neigh, warning Jack to step away. This time Sandy rose. Over the past few years, he had gained a mutual respect for Pitch and they both had a civil relationship but even this was strange enough to get him curious..

Before any of them could do anything, a sharp whistle cut through the air. It was very distant, the quiet of the town helping to echo the sound. A second later, the Nightmare sprinted past the two confused Guardians and disappeared into the darkest shadow it could find..

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

The cold air cut through him like a thousand tiny needles. It bite at his skin and made him shiver but, at the same time, it sort of felt good. It felt good sucking cold air into his lungs, gave him a little shock that helped wake him up better than coffee sometimes. Still, Winter still wasn’t his favorite season. He liked the fall better. The orange, reds and yellow of the leaves gave him a sense of warmth while still having that cold air he enjoyed.

The veil got thinner around fall too, making it easier to communicate with the spirits of the world. He’d did most of his spell work during that time year. Mostly scrying though. He had been trying to call someone for some time now but to no avail. But this year, he had a little luck. He actually managed to summon his own personal demon…

And speaking of which…

He heard a deep neigh sound off behind him. A shadow darker than all the others appeared and out trotted a mare as black as night. His familiar had returned from the task he set it on…

“Did you get it…?” He asked in a velvety tenor voice.

The horse drew closer and turned to the side, allowing the boy to view the contents of its body. Carefully, he reached in and pulled the objects while also taking the phone from the mares mouth.

“Hm...don’t know if I can do anything with the trophy...but the cell phones and keys? Smart choice…”

Pocket the objects, he left the Trophy last. It was a simple trophy, a golden player on the top of a wooden platform. The golden plaque at the front reading “MVP of the Year.” A mark of great achievement. It brought a scowl to his face. Tendrils of shadows slithered up his body and around his arms and fingers; twisting around both ends of the golden trophy...before snapping it clean in two. Smiling, he grabbed both pieces, throwing them at hard as his skinny arms could over the railing of the bridge his stood on, watching as they plunged into freezing water below.

That felt...oddly unsatisfying. He hated the person who owned that trophy. He was so damn proud of it, boasted about it all the time. It should’ve felt good to snap it like that but…

A frustrated growl left him as he pushed himself away from the rail and walked up to the Nightmare. He pulled out his own phone checking the time. 1:13 AM; he been out there for a couple of hours. He should probably get back.

With some effort, he managed to pull himself up on the back of the nightmare before giving it a pack on the back of its head.

“Come on...take me home…”

The nightmare let out a distorted neigh before speeding down the road, carrying its unknown rider into the night…


	2. Phantasm

_‘...ch….Pitch….Pitch?’_

Broken out his deep thoughts, Pitch looked up from the chess board he had been blankly staring at. Floating just on the other side of the chess was a speckled mini-fairy, her hands on her hips and head tilted in concern.

 _‘Am I playing so badly, you got bored?’_ She asked and Pitch had the decency to appear a little sheepish.

 

“Oh...sorry, Vidya. It’s not you...I’m just...thinking…”

 

Pitch sat back in his chair, taking a moment to look around his library. He had spent all morning in here looking for dream specific spell books but he couldn’t find any new information that he didn’t already know. Vidya had been in his library at the time, interested in reading a few horror stories after Shelley had gotten her interested. [1] She would be reading a copy of “Nosferatu” when she saw a few book flying and smacking into the wall around the corner following by frustrated grunts. So she decided it was time for Pitch to take a break with a nice rousing game of chess. Well, rousing for him maybe. No matter what strategy she used, a chess match with Pitch always resulted in her pulling her feathers out in frustration. Though this time, she seemed to be being slightly better since Pitch was very distracted. And she had an idea of why…

_‘...still having those dreams?’_

“Ugh...they no more dreams than I am an angel...these are..! I don’t know what these are but they’re getting extremely bothersome! It’s not often I decide to sleep and I’d rather not do it and be haunted by these...these...dreams!” He angrily snapped his queen down to take Vidya rook, flicking it off of the board in the process. Flinching at the sound of it hitting a nearby bookshelf, Vidya took up her white pawn piece.

_‘Well...if you’re not having luck finding solutions in your own library...maybe...you could...look through North’s library?’_

“...the Cossack? Gods, no…”

_‘North does have a library as big as yours. And last I looked, he had a rather large collection on magic!’_

Pitch let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. In all honesty, he had considered doing that earlier today but his pride and, general dislike of North’s abrasive personality had kept him firmly planted in his own library for now.

As Pitch went to move another piece, a familiar distorted whinny of a horse sounded from the shadow and out appeared a Nightmare from around the corner. A frown instantly appeared on Pitch’s face and he stood up straight.

“Where the bloody hell have you been!?” He yelled, causing the Nightmare to backup, scuffing the ground in response. A few grunts and huffs later, the familiar whispering of the shadow language pulling at Pitch’s mind.

“What? Why an earth would I want you to do that…!? Items? What items?!....ugh, you’re not making any sense!”

All the while, Vidya glanced between the two. From her perspective it honestly looked like Pitch was talking to himself. And that Nightmare he was yelling at looked like any of his other ones as well. Though, she supposed that since Pitch and his minions were of the same element, he was able to tell an individual Nightmare apart from the horde as a whole, much like Tooth was able to do with her fairies.

Growling lowly, Pitch could feel another headache forming, pinching the bridge of his nose once more.

“Alright, stop! Stop! Now...explain...exactly what have you been doing?”

More distorted neighs and snorts, stomping of hooves continued as the horse began to “explain” himself...and Pitch’s face began to twist into a combination of anger and confusion. Feeling a bit brave, Vidya fluttered over to sit on Pitch’s shoulder. ‘What is it saying?’

“...it...it’s saying that...I sent it to stalk someone and steal items from them...then he took me home last night? What? I-I’ve been here for the past week!”

**_‘...we saw you...you’re aura was there...you commanded me…we brought you another item…’_ **

The horse turned to its side, presenting its translucent rib cage its master. His brows creased in confusion. Both he and the fairy took a closer look inside. Some small, silver in color, somewhat sparkly. Pitch reached in slowly and took out...a bracelet?

“...what the…?” At a glance he could tell this was rather expensive. Made of pure silver fashioned into swirling leaves and flowers with real diamonds embedded into the stems and center of the flower. On the underside were initials engraved into the metal in neat cursive lettering…

“Why on earth would I ask you bring me something like this?”

_**‘...I was just obeying your order…’** _

Huffing, Pitch examined the bracelet. Then a thought came to his mind...something he was dreading the answer to…

“...you’re sure it was I...who gave you the order…”

**_‘....yes…’_ **

“.......what did I look like….?”

**_‘...you concealed your face in a hood...but your aura was the same….’_ **

There it was. Of all the answers he expect, he wasn’t expecting that...and it brought even more confusion and anger into him. This was a problem...and he needed to fix it…

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

Though the Christmas season had come to an end, the workshop was just as lively as ever. The yetis bustling about the large facility; cleaning the various wrapping machines and gathering materials and placing them within their designated areas. Others were already beginning to carve out new toys from North’s designs while others were mixing paints and glitters. All the while, the head Yeti, Phil went about making sure everything was moving smoothly. Even though they had almost an entire year before the next Christmas Eve, North wasted no time preparing ahead of time. A little clipboard and pen in his hand, Phil began to check off all the items on his list:

Wood piles ready for carving? Check!  
Glitter production underway? Check!  
Santa’s sleigh tracks being rotated and repainted? Check!  
Elves doing...whatever it they do? Check!

“Ah, _velikolepnyy!_ Well done everyone! Keep of the good work! Only 11 more months until next Christmas!” North’s joyous voice bellowed from the observation deck overlooking the globe. Always full of energy, he was up bright and early making sure the workshop was in full swing. After spending a couple of hours carving a few toy prototypes from the ice, tuning up the sleigh and chasing the elves away after finding them raiding the pantry (yet again), he decided to take a quick break. Just a small though! He didn’t want to fall behind in his schedule. He determined, like every year, to make the next Christmas better than the last.

But before North could sit back and bite into a nice cookie, a series of loud and alarmed grumbles sounded off from the other room. North swiveled around just in time to see Phil rushing out of the room grumbling about the “boogie man” appearing in the library. Where that would usually alarm North, it instead brought a smile to his face.

“Oh? Pitch is here? Why did he not say he was visiting!”

He stuffed a few cookies in his mouth before standing up and speed walking toward the library. Slamming the doors open, he was greeted with the sight of the tall dark man jumping slightly, startled by the noise, and dropping the book he was holding in the process.

“Pitch! Haha, it’s been a while my friend!” Pitch turned just in time to be trapped by North’s bone crushing embrace, squeezing the breath out of his lungs. “Gah...North…! Can’t...breath!”

“Ah, hahah! Sorry, my friend! I just haven’t seen in a while!” He said, setting Pitch down on his feet and finally letting the poor man breath.

“Agh...y-you saw me at the Christmas Eve party just a few weeks ago...gah…”

“That is still long while! Hahah! Ah, but my friend, why are you in library and not come greet me first? Are we ‘under attack’ again? Hahaha!” North joked with a bellowing laugh.

Picking up the book he dropped, he went back to searching through North’s library. “Not yet, at least...I’m just looking for a book that I can’t seem to find in my own library....ah…” And speak of the devil, Pitch, while running his hand across the row of books, seemed to find the one he was looking for. A quick glance over Pitch’s shoulder made North raise a brow..

“...’Dreams within Dreams: The Unconscious Mind & Their Magical Properties’...the boogie man is having dream problems?” He asked with an amused smirk; that Pitch did not appreciate. Though only because North’s guess was right on the nose.

“Hrm...if you must know...I’m having a few issues with my nightmares...and yes...I’ve been having strange...dreams. I just need to do a little research to solve it since nothing else I bloody do seems to be working…”

North stepped around Pitch a bit and noticed he did seem a bit more haggard than usual. Ever since their truce, Pitch always looked relatively healthy since he was getting a steady stream of energy. “Hmm...perhaps you are just working too hard? Why not stay awhile and we can catch up! We can have drink!”

“No…” Pitch didn’t even need to think about it. He could tolerate the man enough for a small conversation but not that much. He tucked the book under his arm and was about to leave..

“Are you sure? I have some cognac brandy!”

Pitch paused for a moment. After all he’s been dealing with that did sound appealing…

“...what year?”

“1930! I haven’t even opened it yet…” North smiled, raising a brow. He learned a few Christmas parties ago that although they were extremely different people, there was one thing they did have in common; they both couldn’t resist a good glass of brandy. [2]

 

“.....I suppose I can stay for one glass…”

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

A deep calming breath filled his lungs before he slowly released it. Finally, he felt at peace. It worked, he was finally able to get some rest without any strange dreams or whatever they were. In fact he felt so good he felt like sleeping in for once. As much as he didn’t want to admit, going to North’s library seemed to be the way to go. He felt so good maybe he’d take Toothiana out someplace special. Maybe to Central Park? She always did love their cherry blossom trees. No they wouldn’t be in bloom yet. Maybe the Amazon jungle where she could watch some exotic birds. Or perhaps to a few historical sights in Asia? He did love their trip to Thailand that one spring.

However, during Pitch’s thought he felt oddly...light. As if he wasn’t lying on anything...like he was...floating…? Oh...oh no…

His eyes snapped open...and all he saw was a familiar watery darkness.

_“Oh BLOODY HELL!!”_

Had he been dreaming this entire time and not realized it?! He had just closed his eyes what felt like moments ago! With a frustrated growl, he stood himself up and whipped around looking for him. He knew it was here, it was always here, always haunting him with that wide golden eyes!

He heard a sound behind him and whipped around...to an image of him. Another shadow yes but...it was his? This was new. He looked around again, no sign of the other shadow yet. But when he turned to face his doppelganger, sure enough, there he was.

But it wasn't just floating there this time. It was knelt on the floor on both knees, its head hung low and its eyes closed while his arms tightly crossed over its torso.

“....what…..” It whispered in that distorted voice. Little golden droplets suddenly fell to the floor beneath it, melting into the watery void below before more followed it. Slowly it rose its head and to Pitch shock, streams of gold were bleeding from its eyes and running down its face. It was...crying.

“....it's...crying?” Pitch mused out loud.

**_“...what….am….I….?”_ **

_Y O U….._

Pitch froze..

This second voice….it was a raspy high pitch whisper, clear as day and it sent a bolt of terror through Pitch’s chest. The other shadow was also frozen still staring up unblinking. Pitch then realize that the shadow wasn’t looking at him...it was looking past him..

_.....A R E….._

Where his body once felt light, now it felt as heavy as lead as inch by inch, he slowly turned, looking over his shoulder.

In a flash the watery realm turned into a stark white void. There was nothing to be scene expect Pitch, the Shadow...and the third. It towered above them, it’s body made entirely of light, hair like starlight flowing endlessly in all direction. Where the other shadow brought anger to Pitch, this thing. He felt genuine fear!

A glowing red seam began to split its face in half in an unsettling smile…

**_.....M I N E!_ **

Its eyes snapped open to reveal piercing crimson orbs…

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

A loud yell echoed through the cavern halls as Pitch shot straight in his bed. His heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute and his brow drenched in sweat. What on earth was that!? That was not the normal dreams he’s been having. This was...he didn’t know what that was? Was it new spell he constructed? Was this shadow trying to him something? His own subconscious? What the hell is happening here!?

Forget being calm, Pitch was pissed! But no. No he couldn’t let his anger get the best of him. He had to solve this before it got any worse. Again, he took deep breaths, calming himself down before getting up from bed and travelling straight to his library.

He emerged from the shadows right in front of the magic section, pulling out books and throwing them to the floor. This wasn’t dream magic, this couldn’t be. He wouldn’t be so affected by this if it were. This was something entirely different. So now he had a new strategy. He went through every single spell book that dealt with the mind and threw out the ones that dealt with dreams. He piled up the books that were left on a nearby table and began rapidly flipping through books.

Memory magic, obviously not. The unconscious realm? That certainly a possibility. Telepathy, clairvoyance and seer magic of the mind. Maybe. It felt like something was trying to tell him something but he just couldn’t understand what or why! Nor did he want to, he just wanted this to stop!

_**CRASH!!** _

Startled, Pitch bolted up from his chair, sending it crashing to the floor, whipped around and saw...nothing….nothing but a set of double oak doors, one of which was cracked open slightly. That sounded like...glass? Maybe ceramic. Whatever it was, nothing in his library should be making that sound. Step by step he slowly moved to the door.

_‘...--ate him.........alwa--……--etter than eve--.....’_

He heard whispers now, coming from beyond the doors, fading in and out, echoing through Pitch’s ears. There was someone in his lair. And that voice...it sounded familiar. It brought a scowl to his face as he marched through the doors.

“...Who’s there!? What are you doing in…”

Pitch stopped short because all he saw around him was darkness. Not that he wasn’t accustomed to it but these doors led to a hallway lit by oil lamps. It wasn’t supposed to be, well, pitch black. But at least he found the source of the sound.

A small rectangular mirror, frozen floating in the darkness, a large crack splintering off from the center like a jagged spider web.

“Where did this mirror come from?” Pitch ponder aloud. As he spoke, he found himself disgusted by the sound of fear in his own voice. He is Pitch Black, the Nightmare King. He makes others feel terror, he does not feel himself. But beyond the cracks, his reflection got darker and darker as he approached until he was a silhouetted Shadow.

Slowly the reflections eyes opened...and golden orbs were looking back at him.

Pitch gasped in shock. It was him again!? No, no it couldn’t he was sure he was awake this time! Wasn’t he? Was he hallucinating or was he having dreams within dreams now!? He took a shaky breath, swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. He snapped his head around seeing if that “other” being was here as well. But there was nothing, just pitch darkness and the mirror with the Shadow.

It still had those same gold streams bleeding down its cheeks. When Pitch stepped closer again, he paused as he watched the Shadow gently place a hand on the cracked glass. It was looking right at him. He took another quick glance over his shoulder before taking a few steps more, standing right before the mirror..

“...alright...you have my attention…”

**_‘........’_ **

“...is there something you’re trying to tell me…?”

**_‘........’_ **

Of course he didn’t speak. He didn’t speak in those dreams why would he in real world. Huffing, Pitch crossed his arms as the Shadow placed up a second hand but otherwise not doing anything. Maybe it was genuinely trying to communicate with him…? If this indeed was another spirit, why would they be contacting him? He didn’t have many friends and the ones he did have would’ve just directly come to him if they needed help so then what was this…?

An impulsive thought entered his mind now. He hesitated then slowly lifted his own hand and slowly placed it on the cracked surface, mirroring the Shadow’s left hand. The moment he did that, the golden streams stopped and the shadow, though never removing the hand, lurched back slightly, as if in shock.

A silent moment passed...then the Shadow came closer.

**_“...can you see me…?”_ **

Pitch was in shock. That was the first time he’s ever been able to hear him clearly. No garbled worlds or broken sentences. They were clear words!

Pitch didn’t have time to respond. A loud bang followed by a shout echoed from the hall, both he and the Shadow snapped their heads to the right, they had both heard it, and its hand left the mirror disappearing seconds later.

“Who’s there--GAAH!!” Pitch lurched back, his back hitting the stone walls hard. There was something invisible grabbing him by the forearm in a vice like grip. He pulled at his arm but there was nothing solid there! The force lurched him forward before slamming him back into the wall again. As the vice grew tighter, Pitch growled in pain and pulled his magic into his free hand.

 ** _“ENOUGH!!”_** With a strong swing of the arm, the darkness of the room fled, and the vice like grip was gone. The hallway had returned back to it’s original state; the smooth stone walls accented with old marble statues at the corners, paintings on the walls and the oil lantern dimly lighting the way. The mirror was gone too leaving just a blank wall in its place.

Just beyond the door, a group of mini-fairies watched in fear and concern, none of them brave enough to ask what just happened. When Pitch's attention snapped around to look at them, they all let out a squeaky gasp before scattering away from the door frame.

Once again, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. This was infuriating! Whatever this was, it made him feel vulnerable and scared and he hated it! He was not supposed to feel these things! Not now! He was the Nightmare king he didn’t feel fear or pain!

But dream or not, the pain he felt now...that pain was real. He touched his arm gingerly, hissing at the pain that was still throbbing up from his forearm to his knuckles. Curiously, he rolled back his sleeve.

He gasped. A bruise….a very large bruise….in the shape of a hand….that was real? There was something here!? Something had attacked him! Was it that Shadow? That other being? Was he still dreaming or hallucinating!?

_**“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON..!?!”** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] - Vidya is an original character in SumiSprite's "Snakebite", the fanfic which this is based after. She's one of Toothiana's mini-fairies that befriended Pitch and was introduced in Chapter 12.
> 
> [2] - A little headcanon of mine! While North is depicted enjoying Milk and cookies in the films, I've always imagined that he would enjoy those "strong drinks" for relaxing. I also imagine him and Pitch enjoying the same type of drink, Brandy. Just seems like the kind of drink a strong man and a man of taste would both in enjoy lol
> 
> I wonder if anyone's figured out what's going on yet....


	3. Perceive

Though the winter season was coming to an end, patches of snow could still be seen on the roofs of the small New England town. Winter break was long over and the roads had been salted and plowed of any remaining snow from previous winter storms so it was business as usual. Much to the enjoyment of the people, it had been particularly sunny that day, so it was warm enough for people to enjoy their lunches outside. A few cafes had screened off areas so that the wind wouldn’t be so biting for their patrons. And for those who didn’t mind the low temperature, a nice hot cup of coffee helped keep them warm.

A good day for adults. A bad day for Jack. Perched on a tree branch, he pouted as he watched a classroom full of students struggle to stay awake during a math lecture. All those bored faces, wishing they didn’t have to be stuck in a stuffy building, learning equations they’d never use in real life. It broke his poor snow flaked covered heart.

A mischievous smile spread on his face as Jack jumped up and looked out on the campus. With a leap, he soared on the wind until he landed on the top of a short bleacher overlooking a football field. It was completely empty and hadn’t been cleared of all the snow yet. A few students could be seen wandering about but it looked like most opted for the warmth of the High School cafeteria than deal with the cold. The winter season wasn’t over just yet and it was nowhere near Easter. He could probably get away with causing one more snow day for these poor unfortunate kids. It was the least he could. Maybe he could start now, give the kids something to do when they were finally released at the end of the day!

“Dude, aren’t you cold?”

Jack, ready to leap to the sky, froze mid movement. He looked around until he saw the source of the voice. It was another kid, or rather teen, sitting just a few seats away from where he landed. He had on dark jeans, grey sneakers and a dark over-sized purple hoodie with the hood pulled up. His hood and his shoulder length black hair obscured most of his face so the most he could make out was his angular nose, thin lips and the hints of a forming bruise on his face..

...and he was looking right at him. Jack did another quick look around to make no one else was there but no, it was just the two of them.

“Are...you’re talking to me?” Jack asked slowly. The dark teen shrugged his shoulder sarcastically.

“You’re the only one here…”

In what Bunny would call a rare moment; Jack was speechless. Not a lot of people could see him and those who did were usually under 12. But never teenagers! Sure he got a few 13 year olds that still believed but this kid was clearly as old as Jack was when he “died” 300 years ago, maybe a little older. [1] This was wild!

While Jack was still trying to sort out his brain, the dark teen took a moment to take a good look at Jack, specifically his lower half. Sure the hoodie looked fine but Jack was wearing an old pair of tattered brown pants. And no shoes? In this temperature? Either this guy wasn’t affected by the cold AT ALL or, more unfortunately, he just didn’t have shoes. That thought brought a big wave of sympathy into him.

“Are you...homeless or something?” He asked, standing up and walking a bit closer to Jack who, by now, had snapped out of his shock and stepped down from the bleachers railing to stand. Both standing, the dark teen looked like he was around an inch taller than him, but with the way he slouched, Jack looked taller.

Shaking the last of his shock off, Jack looked down at himself. None of the other kids minded his appearance so he was a bit thrown off by that question. “Um...technically yeah, I guess…”

Up close, Jack could see a light amber eye peeking out from from under his inky black hair. The kid was a bit unsettling but Jack couldn’t put his finger on the reason why he felt that way. He chalked up to him still getting over the fact that a teen was able to see and hear him.

Huffing, the kid let his backpack slip off his shoulder into his hand. “Sorry, dude...I know what that’s like...sucks...well, hey…” Smirking, he unzipped the bag and held it open for Jack to see; it was filled with all sort of snack cakes, sodas, chips and even a few fast food burgers.

“Want some junk food?”

Jack let out a surprise laugh before nodding and taking a wrapped cheeseburger and a soda, the other teen taking out a bag of chips for himself, before they both sat down.

“Where did you get all that stuff?”

“Pbbft, five finger discount, dude…”

“...really…?” Jack asked, smirking with his brow raised.

“What, like you’ve never snuck off with a candy bar when no one's looking?”

In all honesty, Jack couldn’t deny that. He couldn’t count how many times he’s stolen cookies from North when he wasn’t looking, or the occasional Hot dog from a New York food vendor. Chuckling, Jack took a bite out of the burger, thankful that it wasn’t piping hot as the other teen took a root beer from himself.

“I’d give you an extra pair of sneakers too but someone broke into my gym locker...again…”

“It’s fine,” Jack said with a shrug of the shoulders. “The cold doesn’t bother me! I’m Jack Frost!”

The dark teen let out a low laugh and Jack could see him rolling his eyes. “Yeah, okay…”

For a moment, the two sat in silence, eating the snacks and sandwiches. Jack took another look at the teen, noticing a few more details. He noticed that his fingernails were all painted black and he could see the glint of a singular earring within the mass of black hair. A small gust of wind blew some of the hair out of the kids face, revealing more of his eye. It was completely black all around it, like he had put on heavy black eyeliner and shadow. His backpack was dark blue but there were little gothic charms hanging off one of the rings; a dragon, a pentagram and even a little gold triangle symbol from a video game that Jack would play from time to time. [2]

After munching on a couple of more chips, the teen looked toward Jack again.

“Did you run away from home or something?”

Jack frowned, looking down at his soda can. “Uh, nah my family...died a long time ago…”

“Oh...man I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too--”

“Ah it’s okay. I still got the good memories…” Even though he only got his memories back a few years ago, they were clear as day in his mind. He could still recall the kindness in his mother’s voice and bright laughter of his little sister. He missed them but their memories kept them alive for him.

“That good, I guess. At least you knew your family...I got dumped on the streets. I remember my mom’s face but that’s pretty much it. Now I’m stuck dealing with my asshole of a legal guardian...and forced to come to this den of assholes were other assholes can group together talking about how ‘awesome’ and ‘cool’ they all are!....assholes…”

The kid took one last swig of his root beer before pitching the bottle clear across the field and smirked as he heard it shatter on the other side. Jack let out a low whistle, impressed with the kids throwing arm.

But now Jack felt bad. He’s seen more than his fair share of kids who have gotten bullied and judging by this kids appearance, he was obviously an outcast of sorts. And Jack could definitely empathize with that.

“So...which asshole gave you that..?” He asked, motioning to the kids cheek with the end of his staff. He lifted a hand to cover up the bruise, a look of shame and anger entering his eyes.

“...ugh...some dickbag meathead cornered me in the bathroom cause he thinks I keyed his friends car...I wasn’t even at school that night, I was in the woods! But nooo! Everything gotta be the freaks fault…”

As a cold gust of wind began to blow by, the other teen folded his arms around himself in an attempt to warm himself. Jack, being immune to the cold found it very enjoyable though. Which brought him to his next assumption.

“Is that why you’re out here instead of in the cafeteria? Too many ‘assholes’ to bother ya…?”

“Yup,” The other kid sat back down and pulled out a couple of candy bars, offering one to Jack. “Besides, I always eat out here by myself. I’m not really a people person. Half of the time I just...cut class to go hang out in the woods...better than getting beat on for being a freak…”

Jack felt really bad now. Sounded like this kid had a hard time all the time. Usually when kids get this jaded, they don’t see him or the guardians at all. But even as bitter as this kid seemed, he could still see Jack clear as day. He must still have some happiness left in him. It was then that Jack came to a decision and smiles: this was the first teenager to ever see him and he was gonna make this first meeting memorable.

“Hey! Wanna have a snowball fight?”

Pausing mid bite, the dark teen gave Jack an incredulous look before letting out a short laugh. “Seriously? A snowball fight? Aren’t we little old for that?”

“Oh really...? Says who..?” Jack hopped up and sauntered over to one of the railings that still had snow and gathered it up into a snowball, a mischievous smirk on his face, as he blew his magic into it. By now the other kid slowly stood up, glaring at Jack.

“....don’t you friggin dare--OOF!!” Too late, mid sentence, Jack nailed him right in the head, laughing. Cleaning the snow off, the kid feigned anger...but couldn’t keep up the facade as a few laughed broke through his sneering face.

“Oh now you’re freaking DEAD!” The two boys, laughing, ran down to the still semi snow covered field and began belting snowballs at each other. For a good 10 minutes, they romped through the snow, throwing it at each other, playing a 2-man game of tag and one moment where the kid managed to shovel snow down the back of Jack’s hoodie.

Jack got belted more than a few times, unable to dodge the other kids accurate throwing arm. In one moment, Jack got beaned with a snowball right between the eyes, laughing as he feel back.

“Hahaha!! Nice aim, dude!”

“Yeah well here comes another one--GAAH!! FUCK!!” The teen dropped to one knee, holding the back of his head as mean laughter sounded off behind him. Jack shot up, immediately spotting a rouge football coming to a rolling stop in the snow.

“Heads up freak!” A fairly large boy in a red letter-man jacket yelled.  
“Jeez, way to pay attention! Hahaha!” An equally large boy in the same jack added.  
“Hehehe, aww you ruined his fun! Hahaha!” A blonde girl in a blue leather jacket and foot boots laughed along. During their fun, the two boys had somehow gravitated toward the school parking lot where they were most likely spotted by the group; all three of the kids were standing next to a rather sleek looking car with gaudy flame decals on the side.

Jack frowned as he helped the other kid to his feet, a growl leaving the purple-hoodied kid’s lips. “I’m guessing those are the assholes you were talking about?”

“Yeah...and FUCK YOU, Darren!”

“Wow, I thought you were a freak before but having a snowball fight with yourself? That’s just SAD!”  
“Totally sad…”

The boy frowned, taking a few angry steps toward the group. “What the hell are you talking about?”

The girl this time giggled, leaning up against the larger boy. “Are you so desperate for friends that you gotta make up an imaginary one? Oh no wait, lemme guess, you ‘summoned a spirit from the other world’ oooohhhh!”

“Freak!”

Though the anger remained, now the dark teen looked confused. “Imagin--what the fuck are you talking about!? There’s two of us, what are you blind?!”

The three teens looked surprised for a moment...then started laughing.

“Holy crap, he IS nuts..! You’re the only one there, freak!”

“Use your fucking eyes..!” The dark teen stepped back toward Jack, pointing between the two of them. “There’s TWO of us!” All the while, Jack just stood there awkwardly as the argument continued. He tried a few time to let the other kid know that they couldn’t see him but he was just drowned out by more yelling.

Finally, the three teens got tired of arguing with their target and started getting into the car. “Wow, you really are a crazy freak! Come on, let’s bounce between his crazy rubs off on us!”

The bigger teen got into the driver's seat with the girl getting in in the passengers. With a snide smile, she gave the two a condescending wave before departing. “Bye-bye, Freako…”

As they began starting their car, the other kid growled and Jack could see the fury in his eyes. “I fucking HATE THEM! I hate...ALL these fucking people!! UGGH!!”

And Jack could see why, those teens were just...well...assholes! If those are the guys this kid had to deal with on a daily basis, he couldn’t blame him for opting to deal with the cold rather than sit inside and eat. Those kids almost reminded him of a few summer and fire spirits that used to bully Jack when he first entered the world, a day when he made the mistake of travelling a little too south during one winter. He watched the other kids started to slowly drive away and another mischievous idea entered his white haired head.

“Hey...wanna see something cool?” The dark kid rose an eyebrow in interest but moments later, he gasped in shock as his eyes widened to the size of saucers as Jack shot into the air, hovering just above the top row of bleachers.

The three teens were just pulling out of the parking lot but a quick blast of frost lightning stopped them dead in their tracks. Their tires had frozen solid, all 4 popping at the extreme drop in temperature. A thick layer of frost covered all the windows, some of the cracking and breaking. The engine had also come to a stopped, stalling in place before dying moments later. The two boys could hear the driver and passengers cursing loudly as they got out of the car to figure out what the hell just happened.

Meanwhile, as Jack landed next to the other boy, the dark teen started laughing in both shock and amusement as the sight.

“Ha! Hahaha! Holy crap!! You…! You’re magic!? Holy crap, you’re MAGIC! How the hell did you do that!?”

“Hahaha! I told you, I’m Jack Frost!”

The other teen ran over to the fence to get a better look at his enemies dismayed stated, his smile never leaving his face. “You were right! That! Was hella cool! Man, I-I can’t believe it!”

“...what the hell happened!?”  
“Aw shit, my dad’s ride..! It’s wrecked…!” The large boy spotted the outcast teen from beyond the fence, smiling in glee. “Hey, you..!! Did you fucking do this!?”  
“You’re fucking DEAD!!”

“Oops…” Jack and the other teen took a few steps back as the 2 large boys started barreling toward them. The two of them made their way back to the bleachers, gathering up the junk food and the kids backpack as the duo of bullies came to a stop at the field entrance.

“Bail..?”

“Bail!”

Jack summoned a gust of wind and created a mini-bust of snow to temporarily blind the two boys, aiding in their escape to the nearby tree line, laughing the whole time.

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

The forest had a soft golden-orange glow as the sunset beyond the treeline. A few owls were starting to stir already and the squirrels and rabbits were scurrying into the safety of their nests to bed down for the night.

The dim lighting of the forest was the perfect way for Jack to show off more for his friend. All around frost ferns designs glowed on the bark of dark oak trees, a few ice crystals in different shapes also hanging from the branches. Jack just got finished hanging another little ice star as the other boy approached with a few dried dead branches he was able to find.

“That is so cool! I-I didn’t know there were other magic people in the world…”

“You magic?” Jack asked as he floated down to the make shit fire pit that his new friend made, though he kept his distance.

“Umm...yeah s-sorta…” The other teen set down the sticks before he kneeled down before the branches. He concentrated a bit, his left hand hover just near the base. Watched carefully as the kid began snapping his fingers, a few sparks flicking from his fingertips before one last snap finally set off a tiny flame at the base of the fire pit.

“Wow. I’ve never met a normal person who can use magic.” Jack glanced up at the boy, grinning at the little blush he could see spreading across his face. They both sat back on the ground, sharing their junk food...when a thought came to mind.

“Hey...I just realized, I never got your name..”

The blush on the kids face got a little brighter as he fumbled around with his bottle of root beer. “Ah..y-yeah my name’s kinda...dumb...uh...y-you can just call me J.B. Or just ‘'Jay'’ if you want…”

“Okay then, 'Jay'...so can you do other things with your magic? Like potions and stuff, hahaha..”

“Um...sorta...there’s this...other magic that I know how to do...but...h-hey, what else can you do? With your powers I mean?” Jack frowned a little as his new friend, 'Jay', quickly changed the subject. He didn’t want to pressure him so, after thinking a moment, he smiled as he walked to a nearby large boulder.

“What’s your favorite animal?”

“Birds!” 'Jay' answered immediately.

“Really?” Jack asked as he spread frost all over the surface of the stone. “I thought you’d be more of a...cat person.”

“Pffbht...hell no! Cats are jerks...plus I think I’m allergic to them. But birds are way cooler: they can fly, they’re really smart and come in all sorts of colors--Oh! Did you know the Eurasian Eagle owl is one of THE largest predatory birds on Earth? And they can have a wingspan up to 7 feet! Oh, and crows are one the smartest species of birds on earth! They’ve been known to use tools to solve problems and even mimic human behaviors--!”

“Okay, okay I get it! You’re a bird nerd! Hahahah!”  
“Shut up, birds are cool! Haha!”

“Well then watch this…” Once he had a thick layer of frost on the boulder, Jack drew a basic picture of an owl. He pulled his magic into his hands, the act becoming second nature to him by now, and out flapped a ghostly owl made of frost and ice that perched on his shoulder.

“Holy crap!!” 'Jay' scooted over to Jack side as he watched little snow owl hoot and look around. It flew off of Jack’s shoulder and flew around the pair before landing on 'Jay' outstretched arm.

“That is...awesome!”

“I know, right? First time I did that, I didn’t even know I could!”

The little owl fluttered into the air again before bursting into a cloud of snow, the boys smiling and laughing at the sight the entire time.

“Man, Jack you are like...the coolest kid I’ve ever met...heheh…” Then 'Jay’s’ smile faltered a bit. “You probably got a lot of friends, huh?”

“I guess so yeah. Hal, Harley, a bunch of spring and fall spirits. We have fun.” Jack stopped short, noticing the look on 'Jay'’s face. Though it was mostly hidden by his hair and hood, he could see the melancholia hidden behind his smile. But that wouldn’t do. He wanted this kid to really smile.

“I can fly too..”

'Jay'’s head snapped toward Jack, his melancholia replaced with wonder.

“No fucking way…!”

“Yes, way! Wanna fly with me?” Jack stood up, holding out his hand and the other boy didn’t hesitate and stand up as well.

“Wh--! Hell yeah, I..!!”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a high pitch melody. 'Jay', after first checking his pockets, searched into his bag before retrieving a cellphone with a purple and black casing. Once again, the smile left the boys face as he fiddled with the screen before he looked up at the sky. The sky had grown dark and the full moon was starting to rise. Jack watched his new friend curiously. A strange mix of sadness and determination had grown in his face...and he could swear his eyes were brighter than he remember them being.

“Um…” 'Jay' started to say while pocketing the phone. “I...gotta get going...there’s...my asshole of a legal guardian wants me to come home..."

“Oh..” Jack sounded a little more disappointed than he intended to once he heard himself spoke. “O-Okay, that’s...okay…” Both of them could tell the other was disappointed. While Jack had lots of fun with the kids that could see him and he was friends with other spirits, he never felt like he had someone he could talk-talk to. Someone that was just as young as Jack felt. Harley and Halistair [3] were both young in appearance but compared to Jack, they were much more experienced and, frankly, older than him. They knew more about the world, both magical and not, and a lot of the time, Jack felt like a dumb kid whenever he had to ask questions about something he was “expected” to know already.

As for 'Jay', well, it was obvious why he liked Jack. Even after knowing him for only a day, Jack could tell this kid was an outcast. He was a loner, but not by choice. They both had met someone they felt comfortable with and now their time had been cut short.

“So um...d-do you live around Hawthorne?[4] Maybe we could...meet up again tomorrow or…?”

“Oh yeah, sure! Definitely!” Jack answered quickly. “I usually just float around the world and stuff but I-I can definitely hang out again! Wanna meet up same place tomorrow?”

'Jay' chuckled as he scuffed some dirt onto the fire to douse it. “Probably not a good idea considering…”

“Oh yeah right…” The bullies would definitely remember what happened earlier that day and cause more problem for the pair. Well...they’d cause problems for 'Jay' but he didn’t want that to happen either.

“How about at the edge of the woods where we came in? Out of sight and easy to remember!”

“Sounds good!”

Shrugging his bag onto his shoulder, 'Jay' smiled up at Jack, moving some of his long hair behind his ear. Standing right before Jack and under the moonlight, Jack brows creased slightly. The kids eyes were definitely lighter and brighter than before..in the darkness...they almost seemed...golden…

He quickly snapped himself out himself out his thoughts and clasped hands with the other boy. “Well, till tomorrow then…”

“Lookin’ forward to it…” With that, 'Jay' made his way further into the woods, turning back just a moment to wave at his new friend. “See yeah tomorrow, Jack!”

“You too, 'Jay'!” Taking one last moment to show off, Jack let out a short whistle, mentally willing the wind to whisk him away into the sky and above the trees. He smiled as he heard 'Jay' cheer out in amazement, impressed with Jack’s feat. Far above the treeline, Jack looked down at the clearly and watched as 'Jay' disappeared into the dense expanse of woods.

“Wait till the others hear about this!”

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

However, Jack didn’t realize his new friend had just lied to him…

He didn’t need to go home right now. In fact, he never received a call from his guardian. That was an alarm that 'Jay' had set for himself. Yes, he came into woods often to be alone and think but the main reason why he came here was because it’s where he came to “practice.”

After 10 minutes of walking, ‘Jay’ squeezed through a thicket of buckthorn bushes and entered a second clearing...one that he only knew how to get to.

A circle of small rocks of varying size were placed in a large circle and in the center of that circle was a pentacle of white powder. In the outer band was symbols and writings in a strange language written in more of the white powder and in the inner circle was a pentagram with more writing within each of the points. There were 5 unlit purple candles at the edges of outer band with black candles at the points of the pentagram.

He took a quick glance around to make sure he was truly alone before kneeling down in front of the circle and opening his bag.

“Okay...just a few more time...and it should work...maybe she’ll hear me this time…”

Digging through the empty wrappers and unopened packs of snacks, he pulled out a leather bound journal with a black pentacle symbol on the front and a round clear quartz crystal glued to the front. He flipped to the page bookmarked by a black feather and a propped the book up on a flat rock.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.  
He leaned forward and gently placed his hands with in the circle.  
The white powder began to pulse.  
  
Goosebumps began spread up his arms. His own shadow began to writhe and grow as wisps of shadows crept toward the sky like pitch black smoke, wrapping themselves around ‘Jay’ and the circle.

“...alright….”

He opened his eyes; filled with determination and glowing with a golden hue within the dark of the night…

“....here we go…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] - In the books, it's said that Jack is 14 but he's CLEARLY meant to be a older teen in the films. No way a 14 year old would have Chris Pine's voice! So in my little head canon, Jack's around the age of 16-17.
> 
> [2] - I think we all know what game Jack is talking about lol
> 
> [3] - Halistair and Harley are both original character made by Sumi-Sprite Halistair is the spirit of Halloween while Harley is the spirit of April Fool's Day.
> 
> [4] - Hawthorne was the original name of the town in the ROTG films before it was changed to Burgess.
> 
>  
> 
> Now we see the shadow's face but who is he exactly?


	4. Astral Connection

__**“I call the darkness unto me,  
To show me what I cannot see...**

**I open wide my heart and mind,  
To dream of one I cannot find...**

**To learn of where my life first bud,  
I seek to find this bond of blood...**

**Reveal to me my deep desire,  
Reveal to me my one true sire....”**

 

* * *

 

 

* * *

  
“Okay, is Section NA-31 cleared yet? Great! Make sure you stack them in a pyramid formation; 10 boxes high! Uh-girls! Make sure you go over Section SA-02 very carefully, I’m seeing a lot of grey spots on there!”  
  
Sunset at the Tooth Palace, the fairies were fluttering to and fro, with boxes, teeth and coins in hand. It was time for the once a century clean up of all the tooth boxes in the palace. Once every hundred years, she takes the time to clean out the tooth palace of all the ‘grey’ boxes that were no longer used to be recycled for the next generation of children in the world. And while it’s only been 97 years, 3 months and 1 week, she thought it best to start early this year due to the recent boom in population she’s seen.  
  
She fluttered down to the main base of the North America tower, stacking up all the ‘grey’ boxes along with the other 10 pyramid formations. A few other platforms were already filling up with stacked boxes, some more than others. The girls were making good time. Mostly likely because they wanted to get this over with and back to their normal duties. While it was necessary they make room every century, this was considered to be on the same level as “Vault Duty”, only it involved more cleaning. And just like the kids they watched over, no one liked chores. Well, some of the fairies did but they’re “weird”, as Baby Tooth liked to say.  
  
“Let’s see...Arizona, Mexico, New York--oh dear a lot of California...Texas...mm-hm!”  
  
Taking a quick count in her mind, she went back up to the tower, picking up a few more stray boxes. A light yawn escape her lungs as she continued her inventory. She had start earlier in the morning than usual, even for her. She wanted to get this cleaning project out of the way sooner rather than later so she could enjoy a special evening with a special someone.  
  
_‘Hey Mom…?’_  
  
A pair of mini-fairies called to her, carrying a golden tooth box between them as they made their way up to their mother and Queen. They had found a box in one of the grey patches and sounded both confused and concerned about it.  
  
The Fairy Queen took the box and looked at the picture of the child, examining it. She wasn’t too concerned at first; it wasn’t too unheard of for a child to live longer than most people and so their box was still gold in color even at such an old age.  
  
“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, girls…”  
  
One of the fairies floated up, pointing to the underside of the box where the dates where and…  
  
Toothiana gasped. The date etched into the gold was April 19th, 1608? That was over 400 years ago! But the box was still gold in color? That was very strange indeed. She took another look at the child. It was a young boy with red hair, freckles and dark brown eyes. A perfectly normal child. Maybe there was a ‘glitch’ with the magic?  
  
“Where’d you find this box?”  
  
_‘The Spain section…’_  
  
Before she could respond, another couple of chirps called out to her as two more fairies with another tooth box and the same complaint appeared. She took the box in hand and turned it over. This was dated in 1471.  
  
_‘Another one…?’_  She thought, growing just as confused as her girls. Curious, she flew up a bit higher into the space between the circle of column and began examining them, her girls doing the same. Finally, Toothiana spotted it; a spec of gold in a small patch of grey. Tucking the other two boxes under her arm, she fluttered over and removed the golden box. This one was dated 1818. A bit closer to the current year but 200 years? Even for the most long lived humans, that was stretching it.  
  
Holding all three boxes in hand, she tilted her head in confusion. Was there something wrong the magic in the boxes? They were all empty, Tooth could tell just by shaking them. So that should’ve meant that the child the teeth originally belonged to should’ve passed on by now. So why were the boxes still gold?  
  
“Hmm...keep a lookout for any other boxes you find like these and bring them to the main platform. Once the clean up is done, I’ll be better able to--”  
  
_**CLATTER!!**_  
  
Tooth and her fairies all puffed up slightly as a loud crashing noise echoed up the palace. She looked down and see 2 one perfect pyramid formations reduced to a gold and gemstone color pile on the platform with several fairies frantically trying to clean up the mess.  
  
“Girls, didn’t I tell you not to stack them too high!?”  
  
A group of fairies twittered off apologies as the rest of them began restacking the boxes properly. Sighing, Toothiana took a look up at the sky. The clean up was almost done and the sun was starting to set. The Fairies had been working hard as usual, especially since it was clean up day, harder than usual. Time for a break.  
  
“Ha...it’s okay girls. You all worked hard today so...clean up this mess then everyone can stop early for today. It’s almost dinner time anyway!” The fairies apologies turned into cheers as they started to fix the mess even faster now. It brought an amused smile to Toothiana's face. As hardworking as her girls were, everyone always appreciated a little time off. And speaking of dinner time, she was looking forward to sharing another meal with Pitch.  
  
Smoothing down her feathers a bit, she flew down into the ravine toward the entrance of Pitch’s lair.  
  


**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

When Pitch remodeled his new lair beneath the Tooth Palace, he only added in one entrance. Since he could travel through the shadows, he deemed a door to be largely unnecessary. This singular entrance, however, was made specifically for Tooth and her fairies to use. It was a tunnel leading from the upper side of the ravine into the center of his lair. The hole was surrounded in brightly colored flowers and plants, matching Tooth’s own color scheme. The further down she flew, though, the foliage faded away and was replaced by intricately carved dark stone. Finally, she came an arch way carved with snake skin patterns and emerged to the large open area of Pitch’s home. She always loved going through that entrance. It always felt like she was entering an ancient forgotten temple. The sounds of the running water, the statues, pillars and the oasis in the center; it was all so aesthetically pleasing! Saw what you wanted about the Boogeyman himself, Pitch certainly had style.

A few of the Fairies were travelling through Pitch’s well carrying loads of teeth in their pouches; they stopped to say hello and chat with their mom. She was happy to hear how well their nights were going. One fairies told her that Pitch had been spending a lot of time in his personal library lately. As she flew down to the first level, it made her think that maybe this time they could share a meal in the library, just like old times.

“...perhaps I should just...ignore this and go about my life…”

_‘I don’t think that ever works…’_

Toothiana paused at the cracked entrance of the library. 

“I know...I’m just...mentally exhausted...with this...thing!”

What was Pitch talking about? She let herself step onto the stone floor and, as quietly as she could, took a peek inside through the door. She could see Pitch and Vidya on the far side of the library, right near the fireplace with an untouched chessboard beside them. Pitch was slumped over in his armchair with Vidya on his knee. Toothiana frowned worriedly. Pitch looked so distressed by something. Was something wrong? What thing was he talking about?

“First it was strange dreams...then my nightmares keep randomly going missing...and now I’m being haunted apparently! It’s infuriating…! And exhausting…”

_‘..you know...Mom would--’_

“NO Vidya…”

The little fairy huffed, kicking her wings into gear to land on the tip of Pitch’s nose.

_‘You should tell her! She’ll want to know…!’_

“This sort of thing is out of her element…”

_‘She’s faced worse! YOU included..!’_

“This is MY problem, I’ll deal with it!”

_‘But Pitch, this sounds serious! If someone out there is trying to hurt you, mom will want to know! And what if something attacks you again like the other night?’_

Toothiana gasped. On impulse she entered the room, approaching a surprised Pitch. “Pitch, you were attacked!? But who? Wh-What? When!?”

Pitch scowled at Vidya who was just floating there, feigning an innocent look. He stood up, gently taking Toothiana’s hands into his. “It’s nothing, Songbird. I’m just...having trouble with something--”

“Pitch, I heard you and Vidya talking. You said you were being haunted by something; that it was trying to hurt you! Where did it hurt you?”

“I--”

_‘He’s got a large bruise on his arm!’_  Vidya blurb, earning another growl from Pitch in her direction. He was quickly distracted by Toothiana taking his wrist in hand and pulling up his sleeve. She gasped at the sight of the large hand-shape bruise on his forearm.

“Oh my moon! Pitch--! Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?”  
With a sigh, Pitch rolled his sleeve back down and wrapped his arms around Tooth’s waist.

“Because you worry yourself into a tizzy over the smallest of things.”

“This isn’t a small thing, Pitch!”

“I know, I’m aware of that and I’m handling it...it’s just...taking me a bit longer to figure out what this is…”

That clearly wasn’t a satisfactory answer for Tooth. She moved back a bit, putting her hands on her hips, her eyes looking both worried and irritated. “Pitch...how long has this been going on?”

“Ha...a...few months…”

“A few--!? Pitch! Why didn’t you tell me? We should call the others--”

“No! I don’t want to deal with them and this is MY problem, I’LL be the one to fix it! I’ve already figured out that if I don’t sleep, these ‘hauntings’ become less frequent and I’ve already eliminated a few answers.” That didn’t change Tooth’s expression though. He knew she wouldn’t let this go until he at least considered her suggestion. He let out a tired sigh and sat back in his armchair, rubbing his forehead.

“..alright...just...give me another week to figure this out..if I don’t find a solution by then...I’ll consider looking for outside help…”

Toothiana wanted to stay mad at Pitch for keeping her in the dark about this. They were a couple now; if there was something wrong with one of them, then they should both be working together to solve it. She knew Pitch was a very private and proud person but she thought that he would have at least confided in her about this issue. But looking down at Pitch now...she couldn’t stay angry. He looked...exhausted. He had been sleeping more when they had gotten together so it was easy to see that he had gone back to his own sleep cycle. But his body had gotten so used to having a good night's sleep it was obvious when he didn’t sleep.

Toothiana moved to sit on the arm of the chair and wrapped her arms around Pitch’s shoulders. Without a second thought, he leaned into her embrace letting his head fall onto her shoulder. She smelled like lavender, as always. He mentally kicked himself for a moment. Toothiana has always been a calming presence for him. A small touch here, an embrace there. Their different work schedule make it harder for them to share a night with each other but when they do, Pitch always has a better nights sleep than when he sleeps alone. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you...I just...thought I could deal with this alone…”

_“...Aren’t you always alone…?”_

Pitch opened his eyes confused. He glanced down at the hands around his shoulders and gasped. Pale ivory arms surrounded his shoulder, the nails colored bright blue with a diamond bracelet on the right wrist. These weren’t Tooth’s beautiful hands; what was...?

_‘Who would ever want to be friends with a freak like you…?’_

Pitch tore away from the arms and whipped his head around. His eyes widened in shock.

Her beautiful amethyst eyes weren’t there another more, replaced by dark brown eyes. Blonde hair flowed down this woman’s pale shoulders, silver hooped earrings hanging from her ears and a diamond necklace hanging just above her red thin strapped top. Who the hell was this!?

“Wh..what are…”

_**‘You should do everyone a favor, and kill yourself...no one would miss you...heheheheh…’** _

Pitch scowled. What the fuck was this!? Where was Toothiana?! How did this happen? He squeezed, his eyes shut tight, he could hear voices. Voice laughing and snickering at him, insulting him, he felt such a sudden wave of rage enter his body, he was clutching his fist so tightly he could swear he felt his hand bleed. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he flinched, jerking away and opened his eyes…!

Tooth was there again. Her feather and beautiful eyes were back again, there was no other sign of that other girl. Just the woman he knew and love.

“Pitch..w-what’s wrong, are you in pain?” She carefully reached out again to touch his shoulder. Pitch grabbed her hand into his. She was real; her soft hands, her soft voice. It was her again.

The foreign rage he felt in his body left as quickly as it arrived but he still felt tense. What was that? Is there more than one person trying to haunt him? Was he truly just hallucinating. He felt anger again but he keep himself in check. Toothiana was right here, he couldn’t react to this. He had to stay calm.

“I’m...I’m fine. I’m just...tired…”

This didn’t relieve Tooth’s concern. She placed her hands gently on Pitch’s cheeks, his eyes going closed at the touch. “When was the last time you slept?”

“...it’s hard to tell...I haven’t been sleeping well because of these strange dreams and hauntings...last time I sleep was around...3 and a half weeks ago…”

Tooth let out a grumble. She knew before they got together, Pitch would stay awake for much longer periods of time but still, that worried her. Her first instinct was to scold Pitch but she kept herself in check. It was clear this concerned Pitch just as much as it did her. So with a smile, she put herself up right and pulled Pitch up from his armchair.

“Well then, let’s go up to the Tooth Palace and take a nap…?”

“Toothiana…”

“Come on Pitch,” She began as she wrapped her arms around Pitch’s arm, smiling up at him. “A little nap won’t hurt you...and maybe being in the arms of a beautiful woman will help keep some of those nightmares at bay?” 

Toothiana’s smile grew a little more as a purple blush spread across Pitch’s face. Pitch let out a short chuckle and placed a hand over one of Tooth’s. “...you know...a nap sounds good right now…”

 

 

**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

  
  
But of course, he wouldn’t be allowed to have a peaceful moment of rest..  
  
The moment he laid down with Toothiana and his head hit the pillow, he quickly drifted off into a dreamless sleep...and into that unconscious realm.  
  
The moment he saw that distorted world appear around him, he felt rage well up inside him. He’s been working himself endlessly to find a solution outside of his mind. Perhaps a more direct approach in the mind is what he needs to do. He’s going to make this stop right here and now.  
  
“I know you’re here! Show yourself! NOW!”  
  
Sure enough, with a blink, the shadow appeared before him. It lifted a hand reaching out to Pitch, but he would have none of it this time around. No more tear, no more confused distorted voices, no more haunting him in the real world with strange visions and dreams!  
  
“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!” He bellowed out, the entire realm itself shaking with the intensity of his voice. The shadow quickly withdrew it’s hand, it’s static eyes widening a bit. It was subtle, but Pitch recognize the look of fear in someones eyes, even a blank shadow such as this.  
  
“Oh...are you afraid? Well you should be….you have been tormenting me for the past 2 months...appearing in mirror, showing me things that aren’t really there...attacking me without provocation...do you HAVE a death wish?”  
  
He began walking forward; the shimmering dull blues of the realm got darker and darker the closer Pitch got to the shadow being. The endless water began their feet turned murky like ink and solid like stone. Shadow began to emit from Pitch’s feet, all claw shaped, and they spread across the floor in a jerky menacing fashion toward the shadow.  
  
“...I don’t know why or HOW you’re doing this...but it’s going to END NOW! Whatever little game you’re playing, I’m going to END IT--!!” Pitch stopped in mid step.  
  
The shadow had golden tears running down both eyes now as he began backing up. Slowly, it’s body began to shift and fade. It was disappearing from the bottom up; was it trying to run away? Well...it wasn’t going to...after all this time, Pitch is going to get some answers from this thing.  
  
Pitch lunged forward, the shadow let out a distorted yelp as it turned to run from him, willing it’s body to disappear faster.  ** _‘--ke up...wa--...up!!’_**  Pitch could hear a distorted voice echoing around him.  
  
And as he managed to grab onto the Shadow’s wrist and pull him back...his entire mind began to lurch...  
  
The murky realm shot away from his vision and became a dizzying swirl of lights and colors. He felt like he was falling forward and backward at the same time! The colored kept shifting from dull or bright, warm to cool; all in a vortex of flashing images and emotions that didn’t belong to him. With each image he felt fear, anger, joy and sorrow. So much sorrow. It was so intense; he shut his eyes tight in an effort to steady himself. He’s dealt with mental magic before but never this...chaotic and imbalanced. There was so much to take in, too much to sort through..!!  
  
Then it stopped.  
  
He was standing up right. He felt...cold…  
  
His vision began to clear...where...where was he? He could see so many trees and shrubs casting dark shadows on the grass. A forest. Alright, he was in a forest. A forest in the night, but...why was he hear..  
  
_‘...ch…’_  
  
What was that sound…? He looked down. His shadow was...moving...no, it was twitching...there was a faint orange glow coming from behind him. Pitch turned around…  
  
_‘...itch…’_  
  
There it is again...that voice. He ignored it though. He couldn’t explain what he was looking at. There was a pentagram on the ground made of white glowing powder with black candles on each point...and at the bottom point he could see a small hand…  
  
There was someone laying at his feet. He could barely make them out in the darkness. He could see they were clade in purple and black with jet black hair covering their face. Who was this...was this the spirit haunting him…?  
  
_‘...Pitch…’_  
  
That voice was getting louder. He ignored it at first but he did recognize it. Who was this person? He needed to see their face. He kneeled down, getting a better look at this person. He noticed a book of magic nearby. But he had to focus..  
  
He reached forward toward the person head. Just move his hair...and he could see his face...he could stop this nonsense once and for all!  
  
_**‘PITCH WAKE UP!’**_

 

  
**_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_ **

 

  
Pitch’s eyes snapped open and his shot up in the bed. He felt strange...it felt like there was...too much in his head but he didn’t know what...  
  
_‘Damn...just a second more--’_  
  
“P-Pitch! Pitch look!” His head snapped up and he gasped.  
  
It was the shadow! He was here...looking right at them with those huge golden eyes. It was hunched forward with one of Tooth’s ankles in his hand. Pitch didn’t think, he just moved. He got up on one knee and summoned his scythe, ready to lob the spirits head right off it’s shoulders. The spirit quickly released Tooth and flinched bringing it’s arms up in defense as Pitch’s scythe came swinging down…!! Only to cut through nothing..  
  
The shadow disappeared in a puff of inky mist mere seconds before Pitch’s weapon made contact which was now embedded in the stone floor at the foot of their bed of pillows.  
  
Toothiana scrambled up, placing her hands on Pitch’s shoulders only to flinch back slightly. Pitch had broken out in a cold sweat and was...shaking. His eyes were wide and manic as he snapped his head toward the Fairy Queen.  
  
“Y-You...you saw him, right?! He was real? Real to you!?”   
  
“I-I…”  
  
“He was REAL right!?”  
  
“Yes Pitch! H-He...I...felt something on my foot and when I woke up it was there a-and it grabbed me!”  
  
Pitch let out a shaky breath. That ‘too much’ feeling was gone...he could think a bit more clearly now. That shadow...it wasn’t just in his head. He wasn’t the only one who could see it...but what just happened...was the person he saw in the forest really the owner or maker of that spirit? Was that the being haunting him…?   
  
“Pitch...wh-what just happened….?”  
  
Pitch didn’t answer her. Because, in all honesty...he had no answer….  
  


* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took too long to post! Sorry for the wait!


	5. Investigation

 

* * *

 

Late afternoon in Hawthorne town, the sun was going down and bringing in the night. A playground was empty and covered in snow except for two teenage boys getting to know one another. “Jay” and Jack Frost had been casually chatting for almost an hour now. Jay was sitting on a bench watching Jack balance on a railing, barefoot and unfazed by the cold metal touching his skin. Beside him was his backpack full of snacks and drinks he had “acquired” before going to meet with his friend; already half gone.  
  
“...so I’ve pretty much been wandering around the world since then. Making snow days, playing with kids even though they couldn’t see me, hanging out with other spirits, stuff like that…” Jack said, perfectly balanced on the railing as he twirled his staff in hand.  
  
“...wow...Jack...I’m surprised you haven’t gone crazy yet…” That made Jack paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder at his friend. Jay was leaning back on the bench, his head craned up to look up at the clouds and sky.   
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“You’ve been alive for over 300 years...and in all that time...you’ve basically been invisible to people. No offense but that...that sounds like a nightmare…”  
  
With a sigh, Jack did a 180 and began tip toeing his way back toward his friend.  
  
“Honestly, it kinda was...and I did feel like I was gonna go crazy sometimes...but I guess the fact that even though people couldn’t see me, I could still have fun and make them happy with my magic. It made me feel better...especially with kids who had less than idyllic lives. You’d be surprised how much a little snow can make a kid smile and laugh. It made me feel good seeing that…I-It’s part of my center. No matter how bad things can get, I can always find a way to make some fun outta of it!”  
  
Jack, having made his way back to Jay, plop down on the bench next to Jay, fishing out another candy bar from his dark green backpack. His black hair and hood still hiding most of his face, Jack could still see the frown growing into a small smirk.  
  
“Like running away from assholes in a parking lot after freezing their car tires?”  
  
“Exactly...hahah!”  
  
“...Haha...I’m glad you found some way to keep yourself sane…” He paused a moment then started chuckling. “I guess that makes me kinda special since I’m the only one that can see you, huh?”  
  
“Oh no! Other people can see me if they believe in me! I have a bunch of believers now so it’s not so bad!”  
  
Jay frowned returned but this time in confusion. “Believers? Like...a cult or something? How does that work?”  
  
Jack laughed at Jay’s assumption, earning him a playful shove to the shoulder. “Haha! N-No, uh...a Believer is a child that knows I exist so that means they can see me! It’s just kids though, adults never really see us spirits. The way North explained it to me, it’s because ‘children’s minds are more open to the magical world so it’s easier for them to perceive us.’ If someone doesn’t believe I exist, they can’t see me!”  
  
Jay looked a bit skeptical at that explanation but he accepted it and shrugged it off as truth. But soon enough, another realization came to mind.  
  
“Hey wait…” He started, sitting up from his laid back position. “Jack, I never knew you were ‘real’ until yesterday...how come I can see and hear you?”  
  
Jack opened his mouth but no answer came. That question really did stump him. Granted, he himself still had a lot to learn about the magical and spirit world but from personal experience, Jay’s ability to see him was a real mystery. Jay looked to be in his mid to late teens and the oldest kids to ever see him were usually around 13. So Jay being able to see him was curious indeed…  
  
“Uh...huh...that’s a good question...umm….maybe it’s because you’re magic? I’ve never met another magical person that wasn’t a spirit like me so…” He shrugged that being the best explanation he could come up with.  
  
Jay took another soda for himself, leaning back to look up at the sky, Jack leaning back with him as they both began cloud gazing.  
  
“So what about you, Jay?”  
  
“What about me…?”  
  
“I mean, how long have you known you’ve had magic? Where do you come from?”  
  
There was a long moment of silence. Long enough that Jack looked over to see if Jay even heard him ask the question. His frown became a bit more pronounce, as if he were thinking on how to answer that question. The grip on his soda can had tightened as he glared at a spot in the ground. Jack could only assume that Jay’s ‘origin story’ wasn’t a pleasant one.  
  
“You don’t have to tell me if you--”  
  
“I’m actually not sure where I came from…” The dark teen leaned forward again, staring out at the treeline in the distance. “I remember being with my mom for a while when I was younger...but then one day, I was alone…wandering around by myself until I wound up here in Hawthorne and got put in the Foster system…I don’t know if she abandoned me or if she died...one day I was with her...the next thing I know...she was gone…”  
  
Jack didn’t know what to say to that. He had seen kids be abandoned many times over the centuries and it always broke his heart. Those kids were always never the same after being abandoned or separated from their parents, regardless of how old they were. It drove him to make kids forget about their troubles with his fun and snow. But he could always see the sadness in their eyes; through the smiles and laughter and playing..there was always that sadness deep inside.  
  
“I’m...I’m sorry...that sucks...well...at least you’re not on the streets anymore, right?”  
  
“Tch...yeah. But it’s still shit. My current legal guardian is a piece of shit narcissist that only cares about his image! He only took me in to make himself look better. He doesn’t give a shit about me!”  
  
Jack grimaced a little. As happy as he was to have a friend closer to his age, Jay could be a bit of a downer. It always seemed like nothing went right in this kids life. But Jack wouldn't judge him. No one's life was perfect, neither was Jack’s when he was still alive. He didn’t remember every detail but he did remember that their family was quite poor. His mother and Jack made the best of it but times were hard.   
  
As if to hear his thoughts, Jay looked over to Jack and saw how uncomfortable he looked. “Ah...sorry didn’t mean to bring down the mood...I’m just...dealing with a lot of stuff…”  
  
“No no! It’s okay, I get it...life can be shitty. I see it all the time...it’s why I focus on giving kids snow days and fun! Something to distract them from how crappy things can be!”  
  
A smile finally cracked through Jay’s sour expression as he leaned back on the bench. “That’s really admirable, Jack...I can tell why you have a lot of friends...I--”  
  
Jay paused for a moment, his smile flipping into a frown again. Not out of anger but from confusion. Jack watched as he sat up and, to his surprise, moved some of his hair out his face, giving Jack a better look at his face for the first time. He wished the light was a bit better though; he could make out his eyes, his very pale skin (this kid needed to get out more) and his sharp nose...come to think of it...for some reason Jack felt a bit of familiarity when looking at Jay...as if he knew him from somewhere…  
  
“Uh Jack...what am I looking at?”  
  
A quick glance up at the sky and Jack gasped.   
  
Stretching through the sky were ribbons of purples, blues, yellows and green lights; reaching to all corners to the sky. One of the ribbons were circling around the town of Hawthorne, trying to get the attention of a certain Guardian spirit.  
  
“Am I going nuts or are those the northern lights?”  
  
Amused, Jack smile at his friend. Well Jay wasn’t completely wrong there. As well as pushing aside his slight surprise that Jay was able to see them, he grabbed his staff and stood up from the bench.  
  
“Uh, nope you’re not! Those are the Northern Lights. They’re made by a friend of mine and whenever those are sent out, it means big trouble. Ah, listen, I gotta head out and see what’s going on. I-I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”   
  
With a whistle, he called the wind to lift him upwards and soar toward the North Pole; hearing Jay yelling out his confused sounding goodbyes for the night.

 

* * *

 

 

* * *

  
Things had been rather peaceful ever since the Guardians and Pitch had written out their truce pact with each other. In fact, Jack soon learned that with the death of the Monkey King and after Pitch began his relationship with Toothiana, all of the Guardian’s main antagonists were essential made inert. The guardians were free to focus on their own duties and lives without having to deal with any major trouble. So to see the Northern Lights spreading across the sky brought a sense of dread to Jack. What could be so important or bad that North needed all of them there? If he just wanted to have a meeting, he would’ve just sent a regular message. So what was the big problem this time?  
  
As the oceans turned to snow and ice, Jack saw a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. In the short distance he could see what looked like an enlarge toy-rocket made of Dreamsand soaring just as fast through the sky toward the north. Jack banked through the sky, keeping his speed, till he was side by side with the Dream guardian.  
  
“Sandy, hey! You saw the lights too? Do you know what’s going on?”  
  
A thought bubble with a question mark appeared over his head as he shrugged his shoulders. _‘No idea!’_  
  
After a few more moments of flying, North’s workshop finally came into view and, without missing a beat, Sandy dissolved his rocket as both he and Jack came to a landing on a large balcony and entered the main workshop.  
  
The sight that Sandy and Jack came across wasn’t what they were expecting, though not that surprising. Pitch and Bunnymund were currently having a stare down while Bunny was arguing and blaming Pitch for something. Toothiana was fluttering by Pitch with a few mini-fairies by her side, Vidya and Baby Tooth included. North meanwhile was trying to defuse the situation between to the proud men before him.  
  
“What’d you do this time, ya snake!?” Bunny growled out.  
  
“Why is it you assume I’M the one who did something?”  
  
“Why else would North call us all here?! It’s ALWAYS you doing something!”  
  
“Bunny, now that’s not fair, you know that’s not true!” Toothiana came to Pitch’s defense, her hands planted firmly on her hips.  
  
“Please, please friends, there is no need for such grandstanding!” North interrupted.  
  
“Uh...did we miss something?”  
  
Jack’s comment managed to snap everyone out of their argument. Though when North set his eyes on Sandy, he smiled greatly. “Ah! Good! Sandy, I’m glad you came! You weren’t answering message so I had to send out the lights!” North said, looking a bit annoyed with his old friend.  
  
Sandy, looking bashful now, held up his hands in an apology, symbols flashing above his head saying that he was: _‘Busy with something! Sorry!’_  
  
North raised a bushy brow, grinning as he leaned down to eye level with his friend. “That something would not involve a few mermaids would it?”   
  
Jack laughed as Sandy’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of gold, more shapes flashing above the guardians head: _‘Not your business! Why call?’_  
  
With that North and Toothiana looked toward Pitch expectantly who looked a little more than perturbed by the situation; unwilling to speak of why they were all there. With an ‘encouraging’ nudge from Toothiana, he sighed. “I’m...having a bit of trouble with something…something...dream related…”  
  
Jack, Bunny and Sandy were not impressed by Pitch’s vague answer.  
  
“You, the Great King of the Nightmares, is having dream trouble?” Jack scoffed as he took a glance around the room. “Well, don’t see any pigs flying around..”  
  
“Frost, I swear to all that is unholy--!”  
  
“It’s not just dreams..!” Toothiana interrupted, placing her hands on Pitch’s arm to calm him. “Pitch is being...well...to put it simply, he’s being haunted by...something! Pitch told me it’s been happening for a couple of months now!”  
  
This got their attention. A spirit haunting another spirit. This was something new. Sandy was the first to step up, looking a bit more concerned than the others, asking for Pitch to elaborate about the situation.  
  
Huffing, Pitch rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was too tired to deal with these people..but at the same time too tired to put up a real fight in this situation. So he began disclosing his troubles to the group: the dreams, his nightmares going missing and mistaking another being for himself, the illusions and hallucinations. At lastly, the large hand shaped bruise that was still fading away from his forearm.  
  
“Even I had a brush in with these nightmare hauntings! Last night when me and Pitch were in bed--”  
  
“Uh! TMI!” Jack blurted out but Toothiana just shushed him.  
  
“We were just sleeping Jack! But I woke up a little while later and there was this..shadow being at the end of the bed touching my leg! I-It looked like a Fearling and I panicked and kicked at it but it grabbed me and then I woke up Pitch! It disappeared before we could do anything though...but still, it freaked me out!”  
  
Bunny’s ears perked up in alarm. “Whao-wait, it was a Fearling you said!?”  
  
“Well...not exactly…” Toothiana began. “It had the general appearance of one..all black and shadowy with these big glowing eyes...but it looked too…”  
  
“Human-like..” Pitch finished for her. With a wave of his hand, he formed a small figurine in his palm of the image of the being that’s been haunting. The guardians were all too familiar with what Fearlings looked like. Like Toothiana said, it had a dark body and those eyes...but it’s shape was too full and defined, like a slender human cloaked in darkness. And it had hair for Moon’s said. Granted it was made of shadows but hair all the same.  
  
At this point, Pitch, Tooth, North and Sandy had all sat down on the couches and chairs. Bunny was leaning against a nearby wall and Jack perching himself on the back of an armchair with Baby Tooth perched on the top of his head and Vidya perching herself on Pitch’s shoulder. North had long dispatched a few elves to give out refreshments and treats for the others to snack on as they pleased.  
  
As Pitch waved away the figure, Sandy moved over to Pitch, examining the bruise on his arm, deep in thought. They all watched as Sandy looked Pitch up and down, a hand on his chin, his brows creased in concentration.   
  
Then symbols appeared above his head.  _‘Can not block these with your spells?’_  
  
“No...and it’s getting extremely irritating…” Pitch growled as he snatched a glass of brandy from a passing elf.   
  
Sandy took Pitch’s freehand into his, tracing over the lines in his palms for a moment. _‘Any energy loss?’_  
  
“Just mentally…”  
  
_‘You said Nightmares are going missing?’_  
  
Pitch had to think carefully about that. After the first incident, he kept a close watch over their movements and behavior. They all seemed normal except for a couple of them.  
  
“Actually...it’s not that they’ve gone missing...I let them loose to collect fear of course but a few of them leave for much longer than is accustomed of them...when I ask them where they’ve been, they always claim to have been with me...or at least someone they perceive to be me...and always they returned with strange items.”  
  
That got Jack’s attention along with Sandy.  
  
“Like a cellphone? Or stuff like that?”  
  
Pitch rose a brow as he looked to Jack. Sandy nodded his head, explaining that he and Jack saw one of his nightmares stealing things from a room that didn’t belong to a child's but rather, what looked like a teenagers room. They found it rather odd and that Sandy had meant to ask Pitch what that was all about. That made Pitch scoff a bit, rolling his eyes.  
  
“Oh, that wasn’t the end of it...I have a small collection of strange trinkets like glasses, electronics and even a sports trophy? One even returned with a diamond bracelet at one point..”  
  
Toothiana gasped, frowning and blushing a bit. “Is THAT where that come from? I thought you made that bracelet!”  
  
The group snickered as Pitch’s cheeks turned light purple. “Well...waste not want not…”  
  
Sandy waved his hands toward them; they were getting off track! After thinking over the info he had he asked Pitch a few more questions, trying to clearer picture of what was happening. Finally, he asked: _‘When visions happen, what do you feel?’_  
  
Pitch scoffed, rubbing his forehead to try and calm his ever growing migraine. “They’re all over the place! I felt confused at first but that’s certainly not the case anymore! I just want this to stop and the fact that I can’t aggravates me to no end--”  
  
_‘No, no, no…’_  Sandy interrupted, taking Pitch’s hand. ‘Not asking about emotion. Asking about body. What does body feel? Your mind feel?’  
  
Now that gave Pitch pause. What did it feel like? An odd question but he thought about it. He was just focused on stopping it whenever they occured. He closed his eyes, searching through his own memories, trying to recall all the dreams he had. But after thinking about it, he finally got at what Sandy wanted to know. It was more pronounced the last time he had a strange dream where he appeared in the forest. But he thinks he has an answer..  
  
“...it feels like...my mind isn’t all there..”  
  
“Tch, what else is new…” Bunny mumble but was quickly shot down by North, Tooth and Jack shushing him.  
  
Sandy just ignored him and begged Pitch to continue. “...when I’m asleep and have these dreams, it’s just...confusion...like I’m in a fog and can’t make my way around...but when I have those waking hallucinations...my mind feels like it’s being...drained...like I’m present but part of my mind isn’t--” Then Pitch gasped, opening his eyes at his sudden epiphany. “It’s feel almost like when I look through the eyes of my Nightmares and Shadows. When I throw my consciousness into another form. But against my will..”  
  
And there. Sandy had all the info he needed. He let out a soundless sigh, crossing his arms and nodding. _‘I know what this is…’_  
  
Everyone, Bunny included, leaned closer to hear (or rather see) the explanation.  
  
_‘Not being haunted...someone or something trying to link minds. Visions are working both ways. Seeing through each others eyes. Confused and random because spell was badly done. I think person does not realize this.’_  
  
Pitch was taken aback. He partially assumed this a few nights ago once the spirit started appearing to him in the day time but that didn’t answer all of the questions.  
  
“But what about the dreams? When I appear in that strange watery void realm?”  
  
Sandy thought about it then nodded after thinking of an answer. _‘Happens when both are asleep. Subconscious minds are trying to talk. Can not understand him because connection is bad. I think you look like a shadow to them as well. But…’_  Sandy placed a hand on his cheek, his brows still creased in confusion. _  
  
‘Can explain dream problems. Not waking problem. Nightmares and bruises. Others things should not happen if just Mind Link Spell. Also…’_ He looked up at Pitch pointing to his head. _‘Too powerful for this to happen for so long and easy. Naturally resistance but this is still happening. Something else is wrong.’_  
  
Sandy went back to thinking and Pitch went back to brooding. Great, they were no closer to figuring out this problem than they were when they started. At least he had a better idea of why his spells didn’t work before. He thought he was having issues with dreams. He wouldn’t be able to stop this unless he could find the source of this issue. But what Sandy said concerned him greatly. Who or what would be strong enough to breach his mental barriers like this? His Fearlings are as connected to him mentally as they were physically and would’ve expelled an intruder like this with him barely taking a notice. Not that anyone had ever tried to do something like this in the first place.  
  
Sandy waved his hand in front of Pitch’s face again, getting his attention. A few symbols flashed above his head and, after a pause, Pitch’s frown grew even deeper as, what sounded like a scoff and a growl, got caught in his throat.  
  
“Are...are you serious?! I’m already having issues with one intruder, I don’t want YOU traipsing around in the as well! No!”  
  
They both stared each other down, Sandy with his hands planted firmly on his hips and Pitch crossing his arm, looking down his nose at the dream guardian.  
  
_‘Want this to stop or not? I need to see when this happens next!’_  
  
“Even if I were to agree to that, we’re completely incompatible! My mind and body is more likely to reject YOU more than this other being!”  
  
“What’s wrong? What did Sandy ask?” Jack blurted out, confused by the exchange. While Sandy and Pitch argued, Toothiana fluttered to Jack’s side. “Sandy is asking to dive into Pitch’s mind while he’s asleep so he can see first hand what Pitch sees and feels..”  
  
“Yes and I’m entirely against the idea. NO Sanderson!”  
  
_‘Agh! Such stubborn old man!’_  
  
“Excuse me? Who are you calling an old man, you’re older by at least a couple of--!!”  
  
It happened without warning. It felt like a small boulder suddenly struck him across the face; stunning him into a pained silence and snapping his head to the side. It hit with such force that it launched him over one of the couch arms and he slammed into his ground. The wind was knocked out of his lungs for a moment, he could hear the other scrambling over, asking what just happened and inquiring about his well being. He groaned sitting up on his elbows. His left cheek and the left side of his nose throbbed with pain as he looked up…  
  
He wasn’t in the workshop anymore..  
  
He was in an empty street, alight by street lamps. Everything was a bit fuzzy but he could make out a crosswalk sign above him, a few cars and old brick buildings lining each side of the black asphalt road. He looked down--when did he start wearing baggy black jeans? There were other people there, 3 of them, all of them tall, muscular but young looking. The one in the front was yelling something at him but he couldn’t hear him. Everything sounded garbled and there was persistent ringing in his ears.  
  
_‘Asshole...doesn’t have the nerve to fight me himself... **I should rip him in half…’**_  
  
The 3 large boys stopped their muted yelling; their faces contorted in fear as they backed away. He slowly began to pull himself up from the ground...he saw why they were afraid now. His skin was turning black..there were shadows rising up all around him like inky solid tentacles..  
  
_“Get away from me….!!”  
_  
Pitch felt a hand shaking his shoulder as he watched the boys continue to back away as the shadow enveloped his body in darkness. He shut his eyes tight, willing himself to wake up. Wake up from this sudden dream state he was in! He felt his entire body suddenly lurch backwards into a weightless void.  
  
He opened his eyes again…  
  
He was back in the workshop..  
  
The 5 guardians were hovering above him. Toothiana with both her hands on his shoulder and North with a rag in one of his hands. Sandy was sitting behind Pitch with body his hands hovering just above his temples. He glanced around for a second--wait, didn’t he hit the floor? When did they move him back to the couch?  
  
He managed to pull himself up into a sitting position as Toothiana placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “Oh thank goodness, you’re awake! Pitch are you okay?” The left side of his face was still throbbing in pain--as if his migraine earlier wasn’t enough--and he was fairly sure his nose was bleeding judging by the cloth in North’s hand that was slightly smeared with what looked like purplish-black ink.   
  
“What the hell just happened?” Bunny asked; Pitch could swear he heard a slight tone of concern in the Pooka’s voice. Only slightly.  
  
“...THAT...was the issue I’ve been telling you about….ugh…”  
  
He took the cloth from North’s hand and held it to his nose. He turned, planting his feet firmly on the floor as he hunched over. He still felt a little light headed and the sensation of Toothiana rubbing small circles on his back was one of the few things grounding him at the moment.  
  
“Sanderson…”  
  
Sand floated in front of Pitch, his eyes filled with concern.   
  
“I don’t care anymore...do whatever you have to do: dive in my mind, my memories, my SOUL if you have to...just make this stop..”

 

_~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~_

  
  
Toothiana felt exhausted. She’s only been involved with this mysterious issue for a day and already she feels like she’s lost days of sleepover this. She liked to pride herself on being a calm and collected person but when it came to the people she loved, she would often, as Pitch liked to say, worry herself into a tizzy.  
  
So she could imagine what Pitch must be feeling after dealing with this issue for months. It made her feel guilty about her moment of self-pity over the issues. She was grateful that Sandy, North and Jack left them be for a moment. Pitch was nursing a small glass of brandy while wiping the remnants of his nose bleed with the cloth North had given him. Toothiana was sitting next to him, her hands laid gently on his back and lap, he head resting on his shoulder. She thought she might’ve been a bit too clingy but Pitch quietly told her, if anything, she was a calming presence for him. He had been having random mood swings ever since he first fell so he had been silently meditating to try and block them out.   
  
The others were doing their best to leave Pitch be, some more than others. Sandy at first kept staring at Pitch, as if studying him and waiting for another incident only to be told off by Pitch. So now he was just looking through books that he Elves had brought him in an effort to understand what was happening. North kept himself busy by commanding the Yeti from his workstation, going over quotas, toy production, decoration supplies, etc. Jack was...well Jack. He was stealing cookies and floating about. He tried to offer Pitch a candy cane but one homicidal glare later and he made sure to keep his distance.  
  
A second later, a hole opened up in the floor and out popped Bunnymund with a small bag in his hand.  
  
“Oy Sandy, I think I got what you needed! Handfuls of each right?”  
  
Sandy wasted no time. He took the bag and pulled out the plants inside; some were light pink flowers sprouting from darker pink pellets growing on the stems. The other was a distinctly purple flower that grow long and tall. All of them with the roots attached.  
  
Sandy took a bowl from North’s desk and began to crush the flowers and roots into a powdery paste before transferring it into a small metal infuser laid over a small ceramic cup. Behind him, he heard Pitch stand up to look over the dream guardians shoulder and then scoffed.  
  
“Really, Sanderson? Valerian Root and Lavender?”  
  
Sandy turned around with a steam cup in his hand. With the other hand, he summoned three little pellets made of pure dream sand and plopped them into the mixture. With a wink, he handed the drink to Pitch before signaling:  
  
_‘Simple and works! Don’t complain! Are you ready?’_  
  
Pitch sighed. No he wasn’t ready. He didn’t like any of this but at this point, he’d do anything to make this all stop. The drink itself smelled absolutely repulsive, mostly due to the Valerian Root. With a deep breath, he down the drink in one shot, suppressing the urge to gag at it’s awful taste. But immediately after, the mixture was doing it’s work. His entire body began to tingle and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He was barely aware of a pair of hand leading him to lay back on the chaise lounge that North had carried into the room.  
  
His vision began to blur and slowly his eyes fully closed. A soft hand slipped into his palm and as another and gently began to stroke his forehead. The scent of lavender lulled him further into slumber..he opened his eyes one more time to see the face of his dear Songbird smiling down at him…

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took WAY too long to get out! I hope you guys like it! I'm gonna go play Minecraft for 2 days now Lol


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